December 08, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
When Mother Nature can't oblige, Allegheny County park employees will.
Workers at Boyce Park last night began making artificial snow for the ski slopes, Allegheny County spokesman Kevin Evanto said.
Snowmaking will continue through 10 a.m. Saturday and also will occur Saturday and Sunday nights.
The ski slopes are tentatively scheduled to open at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 16, weather and conditions permitting, and snowtubing will be permitted beginning Dec. 22.
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December 08, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Work will be performed on two area roadways on Monday, weather permitting, the state Department of Transportation has announced.
In North Versailles Twp., crews will be restricting Foster Road to one lane of alternating traffic between Crooked Run Road and Diane Drive so that drainage pipes can be replaced, a district spokesperson for PennDOT said.
The work will be done from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays and is scheduled to wrap up Jan. 31.
Crews from Allison Park Contractors Inc. in West Deer Twp. are performing the work, the PennDOT spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, in Elizabeth Twp., Route 48 will be restricted to one lane of alternating traffic near Swiss Alpine Village on Monday and Tuesday as workers conduct drilling tests.
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December 07, 2017 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
(Tube City Almanac file photo)
Drivers who need handicapped accessible parking for McKeesport's 32nd annual Festival of Trees are encouraged to use the spaces in the circle around Jacob Woll Pavilion, a spokeswoman said.
Parking for other motorists is available in the lots near the Renzie Senior Center and the Jakomas Blue-Top Pavilion.
Sleigh-hay rides will take visitors from Jacob Woll Pavilion to the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center and the Garden Club of McKeesport, the spokeswoman said. The wagon runs approximately every 15 minutes.
Arboretum Drive in Renziehausen Park is closed between Sycamore and Tulip drives so that the road can be used for the sleigh-hay rides.
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December 06, 2017 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
(Tube City Almanac file photos by Denise L. Ritter)
The ornaments are being hung and the lights are being tested at Jacob Woll Pavilion in Renziehausen Park as preparations come down to the wire for McKeesport's 32nd annual Festival of Trees.
A celebration of the holidays --- and the creativity of local groups and churches --- the festival opens at 12 noon Thursday and continues through Monday, with more than 80 Christmas trees on display, mostly featuring handmade decorations honoring a variety of themes.
Admission is $2 for adults. Children age 12 and under are admitted free with one canned good for a needy family.
Local Girl Scout troops will sing carols and hymns at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday when McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko and other city officials hold a tree-lighting ceremony near the intersection of Sycamore and Arboretum drives in the park, a spokesperson said. Santa Claus is scheduled to arrive on a city fire truck.
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December 05, 2017 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
A contractor has wrapped up the replacement of a fishing pier along the Youghiogheny River at Gergely Park, and next year, city officials intend to move ahead with reconstruction of the adjoining amphitheater.
McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko said Monday that the pier, located along the Great Allegheny Passage hiking-biking trail near the foot of Ninth Avenue, was recently completed by Lutterman Excavating of Salem Twp., Westmoreland County.
In June, city council awarded Lutterman a $173,200 contract to demolish and remove the old pier and construct the new one.
“Everything we do to enhance our fishing pier, the amphitheater, Gergely Park and the Marina at McKees Point will improve our city as a destination,” Cherepko said in an email.
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December 04, 2017 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
Port Authority of Allegheny County is continuing to accept comments on its proposal to create a bus rapid transit, or BRT, loop between the downtown and Oakland sections of the city of Pittsburgh.
The project would speed access through Pittsburgh's congested Fifth and Forbes avenues corridor, with buses on dedicated bus lanes running every three to five minutes during peak hours.
But the plan would result in serious changes to the 61 A, B and C bus routes that serve Homestead, Braddock, Duquesne and McKeesport, as well as to the 71-series buses to Wilkinsburg and Point Breeze. The 61C route, which currently connects McKeesport with downtown Pittsburgh via Homestead and Squirrel Hill, would terminate in Oakland, and riders would transfer to the BRT loop for the rest of their journey.
Transit agency spokesman Adam Brandolph says comments are being accepted via email at brt@portauthority.org or by going to the Port Authority's website.
(Architect's rendering of bus rapid transit lanes courtesy Port Authority of Allegheny County.)
November 27, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
A Pleasant Hills resident won a T-shirt design contest sponsored by a Clairton-based charity.
Kirsten Scott's entry was judged the best by voters in an online Google poll run by The Crew Missions, said Judi Robbins, founder and president of the group.
Scott received a $25 gift card and a framed copy of her design in the contest, run earlier this month.
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November 27, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Mon Valley Initiative and YWCA Greater Pittsburgh will hold a health insurance enrollment event from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 4 at MVI's offices, 305 E. Eighth Ave., Homestead.
A spokesman said healthcare "navigators" from YWCA will provide free, one-on-one assistance to help with enrollment. Navigators can also provide advice about the Medicaid and CHIP programs.
Enrollment for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act ends Dec. 15, an earlier deadline than in previous years. In addition, the federal government has been closing the healthcare.gov website on Sundays during the enrollment period in what critics of the Trump administration are calling an attempt to discourage people from purchasing health insurance on the federal marketplace.
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November 27, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, White Oak News
The Mon Yough Chorale will bring Christmas music to the area with two concerts in December.
A spokeswoman said the chorale will perform with the East Winds Symphonic Band at St. Angela Merici Church, 1698 Fawcett Ave., White Oak at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 10. A cookie reception will follow. Admission is free.
On Dec. 17, the chorale will perform again with an afternoon of song at Sampson's Mills Presbyterian Church, 1665 Lincoln Way, White Oak. Tickets are $7 and will be sold at the door. A cookie reception will follow.
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November 26, 2017 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
Above: The Revs. Chandler Wolf, Michele Nagle and William Meekins Jr. were named in July to lead the McKeesport Charge Shared Ministry of the United Methodist Church. (Courtesy Western Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church)
The McKeesport Charge Shared Ministry is a newly created effort by six local United Methodist churches --- Beulah Park, Calvary, Christy Park, First, Kephart and Wesley --- to share resources and ideas.
Rev. William B. Meekins Jr., based at First United Methodist near Carnegie Library, is lead pastor of the McKeesport Charge, which was created in July. Meekins also has primary responsibility for Beulah Park church.
His fellow pastors in the McKeesport Charge include the Rev. Michele A. Nagle, who is primarily at Christy Park and Wesley, and the Rev. Chandler Wolf, primarily at Kephart and Calvary.
Meekins served for eight years as superintendent of the Greensburg District of the United Methodists' Western Pennsylvania Conference. The son of a Methodist pastor, Meekins is a McKeesport native who served for eight years as pastor of Garden City United Methodist Church in Monroeville.
He previously served as a full-time chaplain in the Veterans Administration health care system for nearly 10 years, as well as at churches on Pittsburgh's North Side.
Meekins was our guest this week on our weekly podcast, "Two Rivers, 30 Minutes," to talk about the McKeesport Charge Shared Ministry. We also asked him: What do we have to be thankful for on Thanksgiving weekend, when times often seem difficult?
"Two Rivers, 30 Minutes" airs at 8 a.m. Sundays on WEDO (810) and WZUM (1550), and is available as a free podcast from various podcast directories, including Stitcher and iTunes. You can also download it from our website.
